Staff Software Engineer

Twilio; United States; On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Work from home opportunities

Generous annual time off

Comprehensive health programs

Job summary

Twilio is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to lead critical domains in compliance and telephony services. You'll build innovative API solutions, influence technical strategy, and mentor engineers across teams.

This position emphasizes AI-driven workflows, transitioning to a modern microservices architecture, and ensuring compliance with evolving regulations.

Join Twilio to make a significant impact on the way communication services are provisioned globally.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience designing and developing highly available, high-scale, secure cloud native enterprise systems.
• Expert proficiency in Java or Go, with deep knowledge of AWS ecosystems like Lambda and EKS.
• Experience with telephony protocols, local number porting, or global compliance frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture and technical roadmap transition to a microservices architecture.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to ensure APIs are developer-first and comply with regulations.
• Mentor engineers and foster a culture of technical curiosity and continuous learning.

Skills

API Excellence

Leadership

AI-Native Workflow

Data Savvy

Tools

Kubernetes

Terraform

AWS

Job description

• The Compliance Experiences team sits at the heart of the Twilio platform, owning two critical domains: Phone Numbers and Compliance (KYC)
• In 2026, “getting a phone number” is no longer a simple API call; it requires sophisticated orchestration across global phone number inventory, real-time identity verification, regulatory compliance, and operational tooling at massive scale
• Twilio’s KYC Platform, the gateway to accessing all of Twilio’s communication APIs, enables customers to securely provision and operate communication services globally while navigating complex, constantly evolving regulatory requirements
• As a Staff Software Engineer (P4), you will be a key technical leader for a platform that processes millions of requests
• You will build innovative solutions while working closely with Twilio partners to ensure alignment
• You will lead the technical design and influence the strategic direction that shapes Twilio’s compliance footprint
• You will collaborate with cross functional teams and stakeholders across Twilio who rely on your team’s APIs, services, and tooling to operate efficiently
• You will embrace AI-driven development workflows, using LLMs and agentic tools to accelerate code generation, improve test coverage, and translate complex regulatory requirements into executable logic
• Your mission is to turn ambitious designs into production‑grade features
• DRAW THE OWL: Lead the architecture and long‑term technical roadmap, transitioning legacy systems into a modern, distributed microservices architecture that supports global scale
• ACCELERATE WITH AI: Lead by example in using AI coding assistants (GitHub Copilot, Anthropic Claude, or internal LLMs) to automate boilerplate, generate exhaustive test suites, and perform rapid prototyping. You will be measured on your ability to amplify your own output and the team’s velocity through AI augmentation
• BE AN OWNER: Drive technical excellence across multiple teams, making critical architectural decisions that balance rapid feature innovation with world‑class reliability and security
• WEAR THE CUSTOMER’S SHOES: Partner with Product Managers to translate complex global telecommunications regulations and customer needs into elegant, developer‑first APIs and application workflows
• EMPOWER OTHERS: Mentor and uplift senior and staff engineers. Foster a culture of technical curiosity, ownership, and continuous learning. Teach the team how to move from “writing code” to “reviewing and orchestrating AI‑generated logic” without sacrificing security or quality
• RUTHLESSLY PRIORITIZE: Identify and mitigate technical risks early, ranging from scalability bottlenecks to security vulnerabilities and lead the team through complex production incidents with a focus on long‑term remediation
• WRITE IT DOWN: Communicate complex technical strategies to both executive leadership and engineering teams through high‑quality design documents, RFCs, and presentations

Benefits

• Build and present a Twilio app to earn your Twilio track jacket and receive $30 per month for e‑books for continued learning and education
• Work from home opportunities
• Generous annual time off in all countries
• Comprehensive health programs
• Programs to help our employees plan for their retirement needs
• Generous maternity, paternity, and adoption leaves, as well as family medical care leave
• Variety of snacks, drinks, and catered meals in each of our locations

Twilio values diverse experiences from all kinds of industries, and we encourage everyone who meets the required qualifications to apply. If your career is just starting or hasn’t followed a traditional path, don’t let that stop you from considering Twilio. We are always looking for people who will bring something new to the table!

Qualifications

• API Excellence: A track record of building and maintaining high‑volume public‑facing APIs that focus on exceptional developer experience
• Infrastructure as Code: Proficiency with Kubernetes, Terraform, and modern CI/CD paradigms
• Leadership: Proven ability to influence technical strategy across multiple teams and organizational boundaries without direct authority
• AI‑Native Workflow: Demonstrated experience using AI tools to significantly accelerate software delivery. You should be comfortable discussing how you use LLMs for architectural brainstorming, debugging, and code synthesis
• Expert Proficiency in Java or Go, with deep knowledge of AWS ecosystems (Lambda, EKS, DynamoDB, Kafka)
• 12+ years of experience designing and developing highly available, high‑scale, secure, mission‑critical cloud native enterprise distributed systems
• Data Savvy: Experience with high‑throughput data processing and storage solutions (SQL/NoSQL, Redis, Kafka, or Spark)
• Architectural Mastery: Deep experience with cloud‑native infrastructure (AWS preferred), microservices patterns, and designing “five‑nines” (99.999%) resilient systems
• Telecom Domain Expertise: Experience with telephony protocols, local number porting (LNP), or global regulatory compliance frameworks
• Platform Thinking: Experience building “internal platforms” that enable other developer teams to move faster
• Agentic Systems: Experience building or integrating AI agents into internal developer platforms or automated ops workflows